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The Secret to Finding Great Used Trucks for Sale

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Right now, this very minute, there are millions of Americans searching for used trucks for sale and they’re all asking themselves the same questions. What’s the secret to finding great used trucks for sale? How should I get started? What steps should I take? Should I go online? Should I talk to a dealer?

With such a high volume of used and certified pre-owned trucks out there, there’s one for sale on every street corner, and the dealership lots are full of used trucks for sale. But, like finding a great quality used car, finding a great used truck for sale is all about the process. And the right process is so much easier than you think.

Unfortunately, too many truck shoppers make it hard on themselves with endless online sales searches and time-consuming trips around town searching dealer inventory. But there is a better way. The right way to easily find great quality used trucks (as well as cars, SUVs and vans) in your area, and you’ll have fun doing it with great speed. Here, we’ll walk you through those actions and procedures, and we’ll answer these important questions.

What Are the Most Popular Used Trucks For Sale?

Since Henry Ford produced the first factory pickup in 1917, pickup trucks have become America’s favorite vehicle. Millions are sold every year and for well over 30 years the Ford F-150 has been the best-selling truck in the United States. More than 600,000 of these trucks are sold every year.

The Ford F-150 is followed closely by the Chevy Silverado. More than 400,000 Chevy Silverados are sold each year in the U.S. Third place belongs to the Ram 1500. The Ford F-Series Super Duty and Toyota Tacoma round out the top five best-selling trucks.

Other popular models include the Toyota Tundra, Ram Heavy Duty, and GMC Sierra 1500.

How Can I Find Used Trucks For Sale Near Me?

No one wants to spend days traveling to every used truck dealership in town to find good used trucks for sale.  

Save yourself time by starting your search for the right used truck on AutoGravity. You can use this tool to determine which used truck dealership has the right truck in stock for you.

As you make your selections and design your dream truck on AutoGravity, with unbelievable speed the website displays vehicles matching your favorite configuration, along with the name of the dealership selling the truck and the dealership’s distance from your zip code. This is the true brilliance of the AutoGravity vehicle finder.

When we tried it, there were 1,415 used and certified pre-owned trucks of all brands, sizes and configurations within 30 miles of our location, several located at dealers just a few miles away. Incredible. Encouraged, we decided to dig a little deeper. Narrowing our search to just red or blue full-size V8 engine trucks for sale for less than $30,000. We also broadened our search area to 90 miles from our zip code. AutoGravity found us 159 trucks meeting that description, including great trucks from Ford, Toyota, Nissan, Chevy, and Ram.

Adding white and black trucks to the search increased the results to 949 trucks in dealers local inventory. How cool is that?

Our first selection was a four-wheel drive 2012 Chevy Silverado LT extended cab with the 5.3-liter V8 engine, an automatic transmission and just 68,000 miles. Maybe it was its shiny chrome wheels that caught our eye or its very attractive asking price of just $21,000. “That’s a deal,” we thought. “The truck looks brand new.”

Clicking on the photo of the Chevy revealed 29 additional images, the truck’s exact location, a VW dealer just 15 miles away, and a list of its standard and optional equipment. Also its Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) so you know it’s a real truck.

Using AutoGravity is a great way to find good used trucks for sale near you.

What is the Best Place to Buy Used Trucks For Sale Near Me?

Chances are there are probably countless dealerships with used trucks for sale located near you. With so many options, it’s hard to determine the best place to buy a used truck. Here’s what to look for when searching for the best place to buy used trucks in your area:

Look for all of these qualities when searching for the best place to find used trucks in your community.

What Should I Know About Used Trucks Before I Buy?

When Henry Ford put that small bed on his tough and capable Model T, he changed the way Americans worked and played by creating the first vehicle capable of both. He also created a vehicle with its own language, its own terminology.

Type “used trucks for sale” into a Google search and you’re going to encounter many of these terms, which are unique to trucks. Here’s are 11important terms and their definitions you need to know when shopping for great used trucks for sale.

  1. Payload: This is the combined weight of all of the truck’s passengers and cargo, be it a few suite cases or a load of lumber. It’s basically how much mass the truck is designed to handle safely without overloading its chassis, brakes and suspension.Payload varies due to a truck’s equipment. The full-size Ford F-150 has a payload ranging from 1,485 lbs-2,311 lbs, depending on its configuration.
  2. Towing Capacity: Depending on its configuration, every truck is also rated to pull a maximum amount of weight. The towing capacity of the Ford F-150 varies between 5,000 and 8,000 lbs depending how it is equipped.
  3. GVWR: This is an acronym that stands for Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. It’s the maximum amount of weight a truck can handle, including its passengers and cargo. GVWR also includes the vehicle’s unloaded curb weight. For instance, if a used truck for sale has a GVWR of 10,000 lbs, but the truck alone has a curb weight of 4,000 lbs, than the truck for sale can handle a maximum of 6,000 lbs.
  4. GCVWR: Another acronym. This one stands for Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating. This is basically GVWR plus the truck’s towing capacity. If the GCVWR is 15,000 lbs, and the truck alone has a curb weight of 4,000 lbs, that particular truck can safely handle 11,000 lbs of cargo and trailer.
  5. Torque: When buying a car its horsepower that matters, but truck buyers talk about torque. Always listed as lb-ft, torque is basically the engine’s maximum twisting force, which translates to its ability to push or pull its weight. More engine torque will usually cause a truck to have a higher payload and towing capacity.
  6. Light Duty: This term is applied to all trucks designed to handle work as well as the daily duties of a car. All small or mid-size pickups are light duty, as well as the majority of full-size pickups you see driving around. Popular light duty pickups include the Ram 1500, Toyota Tacoma, Chevy Colorado, and the pickup truck sales leader, the Ford F-150.
  7. Heavy Duty: Heavy-duty trucks, like the Ford F-250 and Ram 2500 offer more size, payload and towing capacity than their light duty brothers. Although they can still be driven everyday, they’re less common than light-duty trucks and the largest are used by commercial industries. Heavy-duty pickups only come in full-size from four manufacturers, Chevy, GMC, Ford and Ram and they’re offered with dually rear axles for towing and hauling extreme loads.
  8. Full-Size: Larger full-size trucks are the most popular because they have higher payloads, more towing capacity and more interior space. They include the Ford F-Series, Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra, Ram 1500, Toyota Tundra, and Nissan Titan.
  9. Midsize: Although smaller usually less capable, midsize trucks are popular because they’re easier to park, easier to drive in the city and they get better fuel economy. Sales of midsize trucks are up over the last few year. The class include the Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon, Toyota Tacoma, and Nissan Frontier. Also the Ford Ranger, which will be reintroduced for 2020.
  10. Short Bed: Short beds usually measure 5.0-feet long on midsize trucks and 6.5-feet long on full-size trucks.
  11. Long Bed: Buyers shopping for used trucks for sale that need a long bed for maximum cargo space, will also find plenty to choose from. These beds usually measure 6.0-feet long on midsize trucks and 8.0-feet long on the full-size variants.

Keep this list of truck-related terms handy when looking for a used truck for sale. Knowing what these terms mean can help you narrow down your options and find a used truck that fits your unique needs.

Is It Smart to Buy A Used Truck?

If you are interested in buying a truck, one of the first decisions you will need to make is whether you want to purchase a used or new truck. Buying a shiny new truck might sound appealing, but there are a number of benefits to purchasing a used truck, including:

These are some of the many reasons why you shouldn’t hesitate to purchase a used truck instead of a new one.

What Are the Six Best Trucks For Sale Under $10,000?

A great, reliable and capable used or pre-owned truck doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. There are many great used trucks for sale for less than $10,000, including many high-quality full-size trucks, with low mileage and cool features like 4-wheel drive.

Before you shop for used truck for sale, however, buyers should also know that only a handful of manufacturers make pickup trucks. The bulk of the automakers, including brands like Buick, Infiniti, Kia, Chrysler, Hyundai, Volvo, Jeep and Mitsubishi do not. Although Jeep is introducing a pickup based on the Jeep Wrangler and Cadillac used to make the Escalade EXT.

Buyers should also remember that Dodge trucks became Ram trucks back in 2011. Because the same company owns both brands, the trucks didn’t change much during the transition. Just the badges changed from Dodge Ram to Ram 1500 as sales continued. 

Here are the Six Best Used Trucks for sale for under $10,000:

  1. 2009-2010 Ford F-150: The twelfth-generation of the Ford F-Series was introduced in 2009 and the first couple of years of production are now available for less than $10,000. These trucks are powerful and capable, but also comfortable. They were available with V6 and the power of V8 engines. Buyers should be aware that high-mileage examples with the 5.4-liter V8 are known to have timing chain issues. Also, look for trucks that have had their transmissions replaced.
  2. 2009-2011 Ram 1500: Dodge and Ram essentially sold the same fourth-generation of their pickup from 2009-2018, however, the name change occurred in 2011. Known for having a smooth ride because of its unique coil-spring rear suspension, early versions of this truck have become very affordable. Powerful V6 and Hemi V8 engines were offered, and these trucks offer a very comfortable car-like interior.
  3. 2007-2008 Toyota Tundra: Built in America, the second-generation of the full-size Toyota Tundra launched in 2007 and was sold until 2013. These trucks are less popular than their Chevy, Ford and Ram competition, but they’re no less capable and feature V6 and V8 engines with impressive power. These trucks were available in 31 configurations, including the CrewMax, which offers a massive backseat, but only a short 5.5-foot bed.
  4. 2004-2005 Toyota Tacoma: Although more than 12 years old, these midsize Toyota Tacomas remain very popular with high sales because of their extreme durability. Trucks with over 200,000 miles are still going strong and hold their value very well. Four-cylinder and V6 engines, with impressive power, were offered, along with the unique Prerunner model, which looks like a 4X4, but is actually rear-wheel drive.
  5. 2005-2007 Chevrolet Silverado 1500: Chevy began using the Silverado name in 1999 when it redesigned its full-size pickup, and that version of the truck was sold until 2007. The last few years of production are still very popular because of the pickups clean styling, well-equipped interiors and LS-based V8 engine, which has a large following and puts out big power. There are also light-hybrid versions of these trucks, which are unpopular due to potential maintenance costs.
  6. 2006-2008 Honda Ridgeline: If you don’t need extreme amounts of payload or towing capacity, the first-generation of the Honda Ridgeline is a great value. These midsize pickups weren’t very popular when new, but they continue to hold their value, offering standard all-wheel drive, a smooth car-like ride and a strong V6 engine with good power. Also unique features like a lockable trunk inside the bed.

The prices of these trucks will vary depending on the used truck dealership. In general, you should be able to purchase these used trucks for under $10,000.

What is the Best Used Truck Under $5,000?

Many people assume that they can’t afford a truck if they are working with a budget of around $5,000. Believe it or not, it is possible to find a used truck for sale for under $5,000. Here are some of your best options:

Don’t let a small budget stop you from purchasing a used truck. Visit a used truck dealership near you to find one of these affordable and reliable models today.

Start Your Search For the Perfect Used Truck For Sale

Finding the best deal on great used trucks for sale doesn’t have to be stressful and take up so much of your time. Savvy truck shoppers are streamlining the process, searching used trucks for sale and their local dealer inventory with a trusted online car finder, like the one on autogravity.com. It’s easy to use and it’s free. It’s the secret to finding your dream truck.